What you need to know

  • Apple software reportedly turning off battery health monitoring following third-party repairs.
  • The software will show a "service" message even on brand new batteries.
  • Work-around required Apple repair or more complicated third party chipset swap.

August 14, 2019: Apple statement

Apple sent us the following statement:


According to a report from iFixit, Apple is disabling access to battery health data when battery replacements aren't performed by Apple or an authorized dealer.

Apparently, when a brand new battery is swapped for one that has degraded, Apple's software will show a "service" message in the settings. The message appears even when a genuine Apple battery is used.




While Apple is seemingly blocking access to battery health information, your battery replacement will work; iFixit said it confirmed performance isn't throttled. You just won't be able to see when it's time to replace your new battery.

"You bought it, you own it, you should be able to fix it," iFixit writes. "It's that simple. Pairing batteries to iPhones is a gross overreach. It's yet another instance of purchasing a product, and not being able to fully utilize it—like leasing a car, except you're paying full price for it."
